What type of bird was that!?!

[AlwaysConfused]

I was walking home from work today, taking a short cut through the lakes,when I saw a massive bird perched in a tree. Now, I'm not normally a wildlife fanatic, but I was drawn by it's size. It looked bit pidgeon-like from the back, but it was huge! I nudged my husband, and we snuck towards it to catch a glimpse. It stayed put for about a minute, perhaps even a little longer, seemingly focused on something, then literally soared into the skies, wing span huge,and no exaggeration, but did not notice the tail. The bird stayed high and paraded in a circular motion. The bird was still in sight when a group of magpies (I counted five, I always count magpies!) came squawking past, and joined together in a tree. Many other birds came over and found solace in a tree. Most of the birds didn't hide themselves very well, but sat still and quiet. The bird stayed in sight, although quite high up for a further 30 seconds or so before flying off. I don't expect you all to be mind readers, but any idea what kind of bird this may be?

[AlwaysConfused]

It didn't make any noise at all, but I will Google buzzards. I was quite overawed by it's presence and size, and by the way it managed to shut up the other birds! Would the bird stick around or do they go from place to place?

[FredPuli43]

Have only 'my' buzzards , who nest on this farm, to go by Confused; they certainly have quite a big territory, covering this village and the adjacent one and the farms, covering the area at some considerable speed, circling a while and then swooping off to the next fields. The birds around here seem little disturbed by their presence, but that may be illusory. They don't seem to take any chances; they do seem to be in the trees, rather than on or near the ground, when one's about!

[moonraker558]

Could it have been one of these if so it is a Bustard that has been re-introduced for breeding on Salisbury Plain. http://tinypic.com/r/un86g/6

[horseshoes]

We have LOTS of buzzards around us, and they are huge. They do tend to fly in large circular movements so it sounds likely that what you saw was a buzzard.

[moonraker558]

Did it look like this in the tree? http://tinypic.com/r/21ju32f/6

[Tilly2]

I think it was a buzzard.